iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

love to offer my snake plant little sips from my nalgene like he’s one of the lads

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I think that’s a lovely way to think about it

the goal isn’t to love everything you read; that would be impossible and absurd. instead it’s to try and ensure that you’re not prematurely closing yourself off to various forms and slants of brilliance that could inform your own

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always returning to this bit of advice from Tracy K Smith: Read widely and *against* your own tastes sometimes.

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Ben Purkert @benpurkert.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

thinking about that Billy Collins interview… everyone has particular turnoffs when reading; it’s natural! but it’s also worthwhile, I think, to be mindful of them and at least acknowledge the possibility that the fault lies not in the writing, but in you as a reader

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truly cannot wait for the real Ben Lerner to publish a short story about the Ben Lerner imposter on Bluesky and then it turns out that the fake Ben Lerner was actually the real Ben Lerner all along and the Ben Lerner short story was written by the fake Ben Lerner

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Ben Purkert @benpurkert.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

I wish this was a joke but I'm 110,000 words in, and I am ~desperate~ to get a word in edgewise out here

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Ben Purkert @benpurkert.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

writing a whole novel in 3rd person is EXHAUSTING, like when the fuck do *I* get to talk????

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Reposted by Ben Purkert

Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Well this is exciting.

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Poet is "plot" spelled wrong, this is my new belief system lol 🙏

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I was extremely (embarrassingly??) honest in this interview and here it is, if you'd like to give it a read! 🎳 @southeastreview.bsky.social www.southeastreview.org/single-post/...

I’ll be honest. I don’t think about plot at all, and I know nothing about it.

What I do believe in, however, is giving a reader something to read toward. I’m very attentive to that, because I believe in honoring a reader’s time and attention. And so, if I’m going to earn their time and attention, I need to ensure that there’s always something compelling them to turn from one page to the next. It could be a big secret, or a small one, but it should sustain them and reward their interest. Otherwise, I mean, there’s a whole fucking world out there. Why stay indoors with a book? Why not just go skydiving or swimming with bottle-nosed dolphins or something?

The analogy George Saunders uses is bowling pins, and I’ve always liked that. As a novelist, your job is to pick out a bunch of bowling pins and throw them up in the air. Then, as the book goes on, you catch them. And the suspense for the reader is seeing all these things thrown up high into the sky, wondering how they’ll find their way back down.

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glad to see that I'm now transitioning from the procrastinating phase to bargaining, the spring semester has me in tatters

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Anna Vangala Jones @anniejowrites.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

hear me out... what if instead of a syllabus I just make an extremely badass starter pack

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Reposted by Ben Purkert

mrs dalloway said she would check & scroll all four of her social media accounts herself

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Reposted by Ben Purkert

eileen chengyin chow @chowleen.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

“It is also November. The noons are more laconic and the sundowns sterner. November always seemed to me the Norway of the year.” -Emily Dickinson, in letter to Lavinia Dickinson (Nov 1864) #everynightapoem #november

Emily Dickinson, handwritten letter to Lavinia

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I swear to god, my entire timeline is jpegs of blue herons

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Ben Purkert @benpurkert.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

the algorithm is inexplicably feeding me an ungodly amount of birding content and I am very here for it

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skipping the Turkey Trot... this is the ultimate compliment. I'm hella honored!!

Ben Purkert @benpurkert.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

It’s a lot, right? At ONSQU, we would never Good to see you on here!

Ben Purkert @benpurkert.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Asking because my friend recently told me she gives every book at least 100 pages before giving up on it and man that strikes me as a longgg leash. But! I want to believe!! 👽